Assessment of energy balance against the nutritional status of women carriers in the brickfields of West Bengal

The Indian brick industry is an unorganized sector in which large numbers of migrant women workers are employed. A survey was conducted on 62 women workers working in different brickfields of West Bengal to assess their physiological workload, nutritional profile, total energy expenditure and energy balance. Energy intake was calculated using physiological fuel values of carbohydrate, fat and protein. From the results it is seen that 13% of the sample population falls under severe (grade III) chronic energy deficiency. The average daily consumption of the workers was comparatively lower than their daily energy expenditure, considering the nature of the job which falls under heavy to extremely heavy categories. This negative energy balance is effectively observed in the nutritional anthropometry data. Thus, an immediate ergonomics intervention with better nutrition should be implemented to improve the health status of the workers so they can safely continue to work for a longer period.     

A data-driven allocation tool for in-kind resources distributed by a state health department

Objective: The objective of this study was to leverage a state health department's operational data to allocate in-kind resources (children's car seats) to counties, with the proposition that need-based allocation could ultimately improve public health outcomes.

Methods: This study used a retrospective analysis of administrative data on car seats distributed to counties statewide by the Georgia Department of Public Health and development of a need-based allocation tool (presented as interactive supplemental digital content, adaptable to other types of in-kind public health resources) that relies on current county-level injury and sociodemographic data.

Results: Car seat allocation using public health data and a need-based formula resulted in substantially different recommended allocations to individual counties compared to historic distribution.

Conclusions: Results indicate that making an in-kind public health resource like car seats universally available results in a less equitable distribution of that resource compared to deliberate allocation according to public health need. Public health agencies can use local data to allocate in-kind resources consistent with health objectives; that is, in a manner offering the greatest potential health impact. Future analysis can determine whether the change to a more equitable allocation of resources is also more efficient, resulting in measurably improved public health outcomes.     

加强环境部门治理的责任研究

伴随经济的发展,中国环境问题日益严重,环境部门的环境治理力度有待加强.长期以来,环境部门应改变传统的重微观层面环境治理职责的实施,改变轻宏观层面环境治理结构架构的做法,调整环境治理方式,充分发挥环境保护多元主体的积极性,突出环境部门在环境治理中的主导作用,明确环境责任.环境责任的关键在于转变环境治理结构中的角色定位,变管理为治理,充分调动多方面力量参与到环境治理,尤其应当重视企业和公众的力量,充分参与治理,实现环境善治.     

Contrasts in Livelihoods and Protein Intake between Commercial and Subsistence Bushmeat Hunters in Two Villages on Bioko Island,Equatorial Guinea

Across West and Central Africa, wildlife provides a source of food and income. We investigated the relation between bushmeat hunting and household wealth and protein consumption in 2 rural communities in Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. One village was dedicated to commercial hunting, the other trapped game primarily for food. We tested whether commercial‐hunter households were nutritionally advantaged over subsistence‐hunter households due to their higher income from the bushmeat trade and greater access to wild‐animal protein. We conducted bushmeat‐offtake surveys in both villages (captures by hunters and carcasses arriving to each village). Mammals (including threatened primates: black colobus [Colobus satanas], Preussi's guenon [Allochrocebus preussi], and russet‐eared guenon [Cercopithecus erythrotis]), birds, and reptiles were hunted. The blue duiker (Philantomba monticola), giant pouched rat (Cricetomys emini), and brush‐tailed porcupine (Atherurus africanus) contributed almost all the animal biomass hunted, consumed, or sold in both villages. Monkeys and Ogilbyi's duikers (Cephalophus ogilbyi) were hunted only by commercial hunters. Commercial hunters generated a mean of US$2000/year from bushmeat sales. Households with commercial hunters were on average wealthier, generated more income, spent more money on nonessential goods, and bought more products they did not grow. By contrast, households with subsistence hunters spent less on market items, spent more on essential products, and grew more of their own food. Despite these differences, average consumption of vegetable protein and domestic meat and bushmeat protein did not differ between villages. Our results highlight the importance of understanding the socioeconomic and nutritional context of commercial and subsistence bushmeat hunting to correctly interpret ways of reducing their effects on threatened species and to enable the sustainable offtake of more productive taxa. Contrastes en el Sustento y la Ingesta de Proteínas entre Carne de Caza de Subsistencia y Comercial en Dos Aldeas en Isla Bioko, Guinea Ecuatorial     

Graduate Student's Guide to Necessary Skills for Nonacademic Conservation Careers

Graduate education programs in conservation science generally focus on disciplinary training and discipline‐specific research skills. However, nonacademic conservation professionals often require an additional suite of skills. This discrepancy between academic training and professional needs can make it difficult for graduate students to identify the skills and experiences that will best prepare them for the conservation job market. We analyzed job advertisements for conservation‐science positions and interviewed conservation professionals with experience hiring early‐career conservation scientists to determine what skills employers of conservation professionals seek; whether the relative importance of skills varies by job sector (government, nonprofit, and private); and how graduate students interested in careers in conservation science might signal competency in key skills to potential employers. In job advertisements, disciplinary, interpersonal, and project‐management skills were in the top 5 skills mentioned across all job sectors. Employers’ needs for additional skills, like program leadership, conflict resolution and negotiation, and technical and information technology skills, varied across sectors. Our interview results demonstrated that some skills are best signaled to employers via experiences obtained outside thesis or dissertation work. Our findings suggest that graduate students who wish to be competitive in the conservation job market can benefit by gaining skills identified as important to the job sector in which they hope to work and should not necessarily expect to be competent in these skills simply by completing their chosen degree path. Guía para el Estudiante de Grado de las Habilidades Necesarias para Carreras de Conservación Académicas     

The political dynamics of voter retrospection and disaster responses

Natural hazards not only have socioeconomic ramifications, they also have political repercussions. This paper takes stock of the fast-growing area of research linking disasters triggered by natural hazards to voting behaviour. It is based on the central tenet of voter retrospection: voters place emphasis on past events when making their selection. The study uncovers a great disparity in analysis of electoral outcomes in the wake of disasters, part of which can be explained by the different methodological choices of authors. However, the unpredictability of voting behaviour in the aftermath of disasters also points to the relevance of introducing an intermediate variable when elucidating voter movements. This variable should capture the prevailing political discourses that surround disasters, as these are likely to shape the dynamics of voter retrospection. The paper demonstrates the analytical relevance of such political discourses by contrasting political dynamics in Denmark and Sweden following the Indian Ocean tsunami on 26 December 2004.     

新疆环境保护网站建设的现状与发展探讨

1997年建成的＂新疆环境保护＂网站是全国第一家环保门户网站,也是新疆第一家政府类网站,新疆环保网站建设与发展已经历风雨兼程的10a,现在正进入一个崭新的发展阶段.回顾、总结和展望新疆各级环保网站的发展,吸取发展中的经验与教训,探索新疆各级环保网站建设中的规律,对新疆环保电子政务的＂理性建设、快速推进＂大有裨益.     

Reviews

Alex de Waal Famine Crimes: Politics and the Disaster Relief Industry in Africa Keith Smith Environmental Hazards: Assessing Risk and Reducing Disaster Kenneth Hewitt Regions of Risk: A Geographical Introduction to Disasters John Seaman The Public Health Consequences of Disasters John Prendergast Frontline Diplomacy. Humanitarian Aid and Conflict in Africa John Prendergast Crisis Response. Humanitarian Band-Aids in Sudan and Somalia Christopher Hood and David K.C. Jones Accident and Design: Contemporary Debates on Risk Management D. Hulme and M. Edwards NGOs, States and Donors. Too Close for Comfort? James C. Hathaway Reconceiving International Refugee Law Rhona Flin Sitting in the Hot Seat Donald Meichenbaum On Treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Handbook and Practice Manual for Therapy R. Scarpa and R.I. Tilling Monitoring and Mitigation of Volcano Hazards Hanna Schmuck-Widmann Living with Floods: Survival Strategies of Char-dwellers in Bangladesh     

城市可持续发展与城市政府职能

城市作为我国行政区划中重要单元和区域经济活动的中心,城市经济、社会发展直接关系着全国的发展水平,城市可持续发展在我国可持续发展中占有重要的地位。城市政府是推动城市可持续发展的首位力量。本文分析了城市可持续发展面临的主要问题,阐述了城市政府五大主要职能,探讨了城市可持续发展与城市经济社会职能的关系。     

论环境保护基础设施建设的筹资及运营机制改革

本文从环境保护基础设施建设存在的资金短缺和利用效率低的现状出发,对现有的筹资方式和经营机制进行分析,提出了今后加快环境保护基础设施建设筹资和改革运营机制的基本思路。